Head of Ark Teacher Training Recruitment

Reports to: Head of Talent

Location: Currently operating hybrid working in our West London Office

Contract: Permanent

Pattern: Full Time (standard hours 9am – 5.30pm) (part-time would be considered up to up to 0.8FTE).

1st round interviews (virtual): 26/11/2024 and 28/11/2024.

2nd round interviews (in person): 04/12/2024 and 05/12/2024.

Full-time salary: £55,000 to £65,000 (depending on experience)

About the role:

The purpose of this role is to lead the recruitment of trainees for Ark’s flagship teacher training programme. This includes both direct hiring for our own 39 Ark schools and in addition recruitment for several of our partner schools. (Depending on our growth strategy and the experiences of the successful candidate there is the possibility to also lead recruitment of new partner schools for Ark Teacher Training).

The Head of Ark Teacher Training (ATT) Recruitment also oversees early career recruitment, supporting Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) hires that are our future ATT pipeline.

The role provides the strategic oversight of our trainee attraction and assessment, overseeing the team who deliver this and managing the relationships with stakeholders, candidates and schools.

This person is a key leader in the People Team, regularly engaging with a broad range of stakeholders including external partners and providers, universities, school leaders, Gen Z and Alpha candidates, as well as early-stage career changers. They will also build essential working relationships within the Recruitment and Talent function (their home team), the HR Business Partner Team, HR Operations Team and ATT Programmes Team.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the overall strategy to deliver a pipeline of trainees to the Ark Teacher Training programme, at around 3,000 applications per year and around 130-150 hires a year (with the potential to grow)
• Lead and enable the team to deliver this strategy; ensuring that they are highly motivated, well supported and given excellent development
• Manage the ATT recruitment data to identify trends and make tactical changes to the recruitment strategy and approach each year and within year as needed
• Work across the Business Partner, Learning Institute and Talent and Recruitment teams to ensure that the strategy for building a pipeline of trainee teachers remains strong, responds to the network needs and is future proofed to reflect changes in the sector
• Work with the Head of Talent to build strategic partnerships to support the continual development of strong pipelines of trainees particularly in challenging subject recruitment and geographies
• Regularly reviewing subject hires, ensuring tactical in year changes or pivots are made where subjects hires are low or where demand is low
• Play a key role in the future of ATT’s growth and work closely with colleagues in the Ark Learning Institute to ensure the Ark pipeline is significant and the programme is aware of future challenges or identified patterns as it grows so that the programme can pivot its approach as required
• Lead the ATT employer brand strategy and messaging in close collaboration with the Communications team, Head of Talent and Head of Recruitment Services
• Lead the external networking opportunities and job fairs, attending where possible themselves, in addition to the team
• Extract, manage and use data insights from the recruitment platform to ensure we remain abreast of challenges and shortages areas, and respond accordingly to make tactical adjustments for our schools and subject areas
• Undertake direct hands-on interviewing for first round stages and support the team to roll out school-based assessment days
• Follow best practice advice and remain up to date, ensuring (for example) KCSIE guidance is clear and correctly noted in any best practice toolkits or guidance

Key Requirements:

• Right to work in the UK
• Qualified at least to first degree level, or equivalent
• Experience of strategic recruitment campaigns and running large scale, volume recruitment campaigns across a multi-site/network or group is essential
• Comprehensive knowledge of employer branding, marketing, communications and recruitment for Gen Z, Alpha, career changes and graduate recruitment more broadly
• Experience of line management and team management
• Experience of the education sector is ideal; this could include having done Initial Teacher Training or having worked within the education sector more broadly
• Ability to think and act strategically, turning actions into desired goals and outcomes at strategic levels
• Good manager, capable of developing others, building capacity and capability through distributed leadership, supporting and galvanising a team
• Excellent communication (written and oral), presentation, and inter-personal skills
• Ability to interpret quantitative data information, and qualitative information to make sensible decisions and inform actions
• Effective time management and organisational skills, with demonstrable ability to prioritise
• Influential, with the ability to challenge the status quo when required

Benefits:

• Our hybrid working model aims to offer the best of both worlds, striking the right balance between in-person collaboration and remote working. You will work a minimum of two days per week in our state-of-the-art office in West London allowing you to connect with colleagues, with the flexibility to work remotely, or in the office over the remaining days
• In addition to our current hybrid working arrangements, employees can request to work fully remotely for up to 10 working days a year, whether this be in the UK or abroad
• Our flexitime policy allows you to work your hours around our core hours of 10.00 - 16.00, helping you prioritise your work-life balance and personal commitments
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3-years’ service. This entitlement is pro rata for part time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays
• Full office closure between Christmas and New Year
• Regular social events, monthly free breakfast, and daily fruit
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to. Depending on your role you may also be entitled to LGPS which is a defined benefit scheme where you contribute a percentage based on how much you earn (as do we) in exchange for a guaranteed amount in your pension pot every year
• Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests.

About Us

We’re an international charity, transforming lives through education. We exist to give every young person, regardless of their background, a great education and real choices in life. In the UK, we’re a network of 39 schools, educating around 30,000 pupils in areas where we can make the biggest difference and we’re recognised as one of the highest achieving academy groups in the country. We want to change the lives of children everywhere, not just in our own schools. So, we create and incubate Ventures designed not only to help pupils in Ark schools, but also to improve education systems.

You’ll be joining a group of like-minded, ambitious individuals who work collaboratively and are all committed to our core mission, that every child has the potential to succeed. Having just celebrated our 20th anniversary, we are shaping our goals for the next 20 and there has never been a more exciting time to join us.

Diversity and inclusion:

We aim to build a diverse and inclusive organisation where everyone – staff and students – can do their best work and achieve their full potential. We want to reflect and represent diverse perspectives across our organisation because we know that doing so will make us stronger and more effective. To know more about Ark’s diversity and inclusion commitments, please click on this link.

Safeguarding statement:

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.

Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link.

Please note we will be reviewing applications on an on-going basis and this role may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response. We strongly encourage to submit your application at your earliest convenience.